Schedule: Friday from 7:30 PM to Sunday 12:30 PM
Location: Calistoga, CA
28 CEU units available!

Reserve your space now–retreat limited to 10 participants!

Linda Joy Myers, Ph.D.

With Linda Joy Myers, Ph.D.

If you have been writing for a while and enjoy the process of understanding yourself through memoir writing, then this course is a great fit for you.

6 CEU’s Available!

MONDAY Course Meeting Dates:  June 28, July 12, July 19, July 26, August 2 & August 9
MONDAY Meeting Time:  3 PM PDT | 4 PM MDT | 5 PM CDT | 6 PM EDT

OR

FRIDAY Course Meeting Dates: July 2, July  9, July 16, July 23, July 30 & August 6

FRIDAY Meeting Time: 8 AM PDT | 9 AM MDT |  10 AM CDT | 11 AM EDT

Level: Intermediate to Advanced Workshops  — 6 Sessions on Either Monday or Friday

The format: write your story for that week, email it to the workshop members. Write your feedback to each participant, and email it to them. Gather on the conference call once a week to discuss the work, get feedback from Linda and others on the call, and develop new ideas for your stories. Handouts are sent by email for new writing prompts or lessons.

Presented by:  Linda Joy Myers, Ph.D., NAMW President

NAMW is excited to announce our summer Memoir Writing & NonFiction Tele-Workshops! We know how busy you are during the summer months, so we’ve broken this course down into two separate sessions: Part 1 & Part 2.  Attend one or both Sessions, as your schedule permits.  And as with all NAMW workshops, if you can’t attend all of the dates, you can download an audio recording of each class when you sign up to participate in the session!

Scroll down to the bottom of this page to sign up for Part 1, Part 2 or Both!

Session 1, Part One Dates:

Tuesday June 22

Tuesday June 29

Tuesday July 6

Time:  3:00 PM PDT | 4:00 PM MDT | 5:00 PM CDT | 6:00 PM EDT

Session 2, Part Two Dates:

Tuesday July 13

Tuesday July 20

Tuesday July 27

Time:  3:00 PM PDT | 4:00 PM MDT | 5:00 PM CDT | 6:00 PM EDT

You’ve started your memoir or nonfiction writing project—freewriting, journaling, and collecting stories, ideas and outlines. As you write, questions develop that need your attention and solutions.   These two part series entitled, the Writer’s Survival Kit, will help you continue to move forward!

Part One

Discuss the basics of writing memoir and nonfiction.

The skills for writing nonfiction are the same as for memoir—to write about a subject in such a way that it grabs readers and keeps them turning the pages. Story is one way that readers stay engaged. Story is composed of several components. The most important of these are scenes, theme, narrative arc, and sensual details.

Topics that will be discussed include:

• Do I really need to write scenes, and why? We will discuss this and learn about using sensual details, dialogue, and setting.
• How do I find the themes in my work? The themes of your work are a thread that continues throughout the piece, a path through the forest of ideas and words.
• What is a narrative arc of story and do I need it? The narrative voice, narrative arc, and plot are tools that create a structure for your work.

In part one of this workshop, we will discuss these important tools for writers.   You’ll also be able to post comments and have discussions within the NAMW Forum Classroom.

Part Two

As you work on your project, you discover the need to understand certain conventions about using real people as examples in your nonfiction, or as characters in your memoir. You discover that you need to keep track of several threads of the stories, and to capture scenes in a complete way. Examples will be used to show you how other authors use these skills in their writing. And, last but not least, if you are a writer, you have tons of paper, files, and misnamed documents where it’s hard to find what you have written and a challenge to keep track. Being a writer means having a system for your files and ideas, which helps you to develop your projects in a flow that enhances creativity.

Topics that will be discussed include:

• Real people—managing truth telling, secrets, and naming.
• Deepening skills—integrating thoughts, action, dialogue, and reaction. Layering.
• Being a writer—keeping track, organizing files, revision, editing, writing time and groups.

	Session 1	Session 2	Session 1 & Session 2
NAMW Lifetime Member Price	$85.00 Login & Click Here for Lifetime Member Pricing	$85.00 Login & Click Here for Lifetime Member Pricing	$160 (SAVE $10.00 by enrolling in both sessions NOW) Login & Click Here for Lifetime Member Pricing
NAMW Annual Member Price	$95.00 Login & Click Here for Annual Member Pricing	$95.00 Login & Click Here for Annual Member Pricing	$180 (SAVE $10.00 by enrolling in both sessions NOW) Login & Click Here for Annual Member Pricing
Non-NAMW Member Price	$135	$135	$260 (SAVE $10.00 by enrolling in both sessions NOW)

About Linda Joy:

Linda Joy Myers, Ph.D., MFT, is the President and Founder of the National Association of Memoir Writers.  For the last thirty years Linda Joy has been a therapist in Berkeley, California. She is the author of The Power of Memoir: How to Write Your Healing Story, Don’t Call Me Mother: Breaking the Chain of Mother Daughter Abandonment & Becoming Whole: Writing Your Healing Story.

Linda’s prize-winning nonfiction and poetry has been published in various literary journals. Her novel excerpt, Secret Music, a novel about the kindertransport, was a finalist in the San Francisco Writing Conference contest. Her memoir piece Aunt Edith’s Lemon Meringue Pie can be read here: http://www.themonthly.com/feature6-07-07.html

Linda is past-president of The California Writers Club, Marin branch, was co-President on the board of the Women’s National Book Association, and is currently on the board of Story Circle Network.

Linda received her MFA at Mills College, and has taught Marriage and Family Therapy. In addition to her degrees in psychology, Linda has a B.S. in Music Education from the University of Illinois, and a B.A. in Art from the University of California, Berkeley.

Linda Joy Myers, Ph.D.

With Linda Joy Myers, Ph.D.
Beginning Monday April 5 through June 14, 2010

Meeting dates:  MONDAYS 4/5; 4/19; 4/26; 5/3; 5/10; 5/17; 5/24; 6/7; 6/14
Time: 8am pacific / 9am mountain / 10am central / 11am eastern

Level: Intermediate to Advanced Workshop
If you have been writing for a while and enjoy the process of understanding yourself through memoir writing, contact Linda Joy. She will help you determine how you might fit into the level of workshop that meets that session. Various factors help to determine how you will fit into one of the ongoing workshops, and we like to help you find one that works for where you are in your writing life. Simply send an email to info@namw.org with the best telephone number at which to reach you and Linda Joy will contact you directly about your writing needs relative to one of her intermediate to advanced workshops.

The format: write your story for that week, email it to the workshop members. Write your feedback to each participant, and email it to them. Gather on the conference call once a week to discuss the work, get feedback from Linda and others on the call, and develop new ideas for your stories. Handouts are sent by email for new writing prompts or lessons.

Linda Joy Myers, Ph.D.

With Linda Joy Myers, Ph.D.
Period: FRIDAYS, April 16, 2010 to June 25, 2010

Meeting dates: 4/16; 4/23; 5/7; 5/14; 5/21; 5/28; 6/11; 6/18; 6/25
Time: 8am pacific / 9am mountain / 10am central / 11am eastern

Level: Intermediate to Advanced Workshop
If you have been writing for a while and enjoy the process of understanding yourself through memoir writing, contact Linda Joy. She will help you determine how you might fit into the level of workshop that meets that session. Various factors help to determine how you will fit into one of the ongoing workshops, and we like to help you find one that works for where you are in your writing life. Simply send an email to info@namw.org with the best telephone number at which to reach you and Linda Joy will contact you directly about your writing needs relative to one of her intermediate to advanced workshops.

The format: write your story for that week, email it to the workshop members. Write your feedback to each participant, and email it to them. Gather on the conference call once a week to discuss the work, get feedback from Linda and others on the call, and develop new ideas for your stories. Handouts are sent by email for new writing prompts or lessons.

Linda Joy Myers, Ph.D.

New Tuesday Spiritual Autobiography/Healing Memoir Workshopwith Linda Joy Myers, Ph.D.
9 Meetings
Dates: Between April 6 and June 15 [4/6; 4/20; 4/27; 5/4; 5/11; 5/18; 5/25; 6/8; 6/15]
Time: 3 PM PDT; 4 PM MDT; 5 PM CDT; 6 PM EDT

In a safe space, students unwind their memory stories, capturing images, memories and reflections that are important, often turning points that shaped them into who they are. The workshop offers a place to dig deep and invite the stories we have always meant to write, the secret stories of the heart. We invite the critic to move aside so we are free to write new, to discover as we go, and to write in a sacred space that encourages fresh language and imagery.

Some writers are examining the past, while others are telling their untold stories. The stories themselves guide us to where we need to write. As. Dr. James Pennebaker says, “stories are a form of knowledge.”

We send the stories through email, respond to each story through email, and gather in a teleconference at the appointed time to share more of our thoughts, ideas, and feedback, creating a warm and welcoming teleclass environment.

Please join us. Be Brave—Write the stories that beckon you to listen.

9 Session Tuesday Spiritual Autobiography & Healing Memoir Workshop

NAMW Member	$390.00 (special NAMW Member-only pricing)	Click here to visit the Members Discounts page
Non-NAMW Member	$525.00 | Do you want to receive a discount on this workshop Become a member of NAMW and enjoy discounts on this and other workshops!

Linda Joy Myers, Ph.D.

With Linda Joy Myers, Ph.D.
Period: FRIDAYS, March 26 to June 25, 2010

Meeting dates: 4/16; 4/23; 5/7; 5/14; 5/21; 5/28; 6/11; 6/18; 6/25
Time: 8am pacific / 9am mountain / 10am central / 11am eastern

Level:  Intermediate to Advanced Workshop
If you have been writing for a while and enjoy the process of understanding yourself through memoir writing, contact Linda Joy. She will help you determine how you might fit into the level of workshop that meets that session. Various factors help to determine how you will fit into one of the ongoing workshops, and we like to help you find one that works for where you are in your writing life.  Simply send an email to info@namw.org with the best telephone number at which to reach you and Linda Joy will contact you directly about your writing needs relative to one of her intermediate to advanced workshops.

The format: write your story for that week, email it to the workshop members. Write your feedback to each participant, and email it to them. Gather on the conference call once a week to discuss the work, get feedback from Linda and others on the call, and develop new ideas for your stories. Handouts are sent by email for new writing prompts or lessons.

Autumn: the earth releases its fruits into harvest turning toward the silence and reflection of winter darkness. In this silence, we dig deep into our inner selves, and the poetry within.

Calistoga: steam arises from ancient pools of mineral water inviting busy urban souls to relax into healing waters, to find silence in nature, to spend time with the self that is often forgotten. Join us in this bounteous place for a writing retreat.
Reserve your space now–retreat limited to 10 participants!

Take a gallop back in time, to the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with author, ghostwriter and historian Kim Pearson, and discover how you participated in and contributed to the events and trends of those times. Yes, if you were 7 or 77, what you did, thought, felt, and witnessed mattered – to history! Anchor your memoir in time with historical context, adding depth and color to help your future readers understand “where you’re coming from.”

Linda Joy Myers, Ph.D., President of NAMW

This advanced group is for those who have begun to explore the significant events in their lives and have written the early stories of their memoir. The writers in this group will deepen their progress by exploring not only techniques such as dialogue, scenes, point of view, and story structure, but delve into the emotional layering that makes up the first draft of a memoir. These skills—both emotional and technical—help you write memoir vignettes that clarify who you have been, who you are, and where you are going in your life.